Kernow Kewsel

Inside this issue

Hello and Welcome WOW! A little angel Festival of

Christmas trees Diamond Wedding New Year

celebrations Winter at Kernow Forest Hill Social media Residents &

relatives survey Uniting the

generations

Hello and Welcome!

Christmas is coming – Fast! We have a lot planned for the festive season and beyond. We will begin 2018 with “WOW” a makeover. A thorough redecoration of many parts of Kernow House. As regular visitors will know, the builders and decorators are in and doing a fantastic job. The work is due to be finished in mid-February and will mark the transition to two distinct specialisms within Kernow house. Our dementia services will be located on the ground floor, headed by Leigh. Our Huntington’s and Neuro services, headed by Steph, will be located on the upper floor. The refurbishment represents a significant investment in the environment of the people who matter most – our residents. We’ve got a lot to look forward to. I wish everyone a merry Christmas and a Bright New Year.

Kernow House

Landlake Road, Launceston, Pl15 9 HP

Tel: 01566 777841 • www.barchester.com

General Manager

Careen Harris

News in and around Kernow House

The completion of the WOW in February will see the expansion of our dementia services. Petherwin and St Piran’s will remain, although St Piran’s will be 9 bedrooms bigger than it was before. The whole of the Upper Floor will be known, simply as Millaton and will care for people with Huntington’s Diseases or other neurological conditions. It is envisaged the chances will benefit everyone living and working in them. On the subject of doing what we do well even better a huge “WOW, Well Done” to our Memory Lane Coordinator Sandy Hart who was nominated our division’s “Memory Lane Champion”. Kernow House is part of Barchester’s complex care division. We are the only division defined by what we do rather than where we are geographically. We are so proud of Sandy’s achievement.

Cracker, who is a miniature Shetland pony came to visit us. He has been before, but this time he dressed up as an angel and was on his very best behavior when he went visiting the residents throughout the home. He is pictured visiting Mary Zorichak in her bedroom to wish her Happy Christmas. Cracker was the first of our special events we have planned to celebrate Christmas. He will return again next year.

A little angel comes visiting

WOW!

Festival of Christmas Trees TreTreesTrees Residents, relatives, friends and staff have been busy making paper chains and memory sticks for the Memory Stick tree we decorated and displayed in St. Mary’s Church as part of the Festival of Christmas Trees and Cribs. The decorations will be displayed on the concourse during the Christmas period for everyone to see. Thank you very much to Maureen Bunn who very kindly donated the beautiful paper and card we used for the decorations.

News in and around Kernow House

Diamond Wedding

Winter at Kernow House During December we have lots of festive events happening. We have made Christmas cakes and will hold our traditional cake competition. The winning cake will be entered into Barchester’s National competition and of course, we hope to win again. We have many musical events with entertainers coming in to sing festive songs to get us in the mood for Christmas. Our party is Monday 18th when ManofMusic will entertain on all our units before we have our buffets. The Methodist community help us celebrate with a Carol Service by the Christmas tree followed by mince pies and mulled wine. Please see notice boards for dates and join in anything you would like. You will, as always, be most welcome. Of course, we also have our usual activities like pop-up cafes and sensory sessions and after the New Year, we will carry on with a full programme of events.

New Year celebrations We will celebrate New Year’s Eve with a drink and a little party food. Perhaps some people will have a sing and a dance or set off a party popper or two to see the New Year in. We wish you all a very Happy New Year.

John and June Ellis celebrated their Diamond Wedding Anniversary at Kernow House on the 30th of November with a beautiful cake made by our head chef. Congratulations to you both!

A few words from Barchester…

Residents & Relatives Survey We would like to thank everyone who participated in our residents and relatives’ survey – we’re always keen to hear you feedback on the care, services and facilities that we provide. We are happy to announce that the results will be available to view in early 2018.

Forest Hill has been rated ‘Outstanding’

Following an inspection by the CQC on 15th August 2017, Forest Hill Care Home in Worksop was rated as ‘Outstanding’, which is detailed in a report that was published on 22nd November 2017. The home received an ‘Outstanding’ in two of the five categories – Caring and Response – and a ‘Good’ in Safe, Effective and Well-led. Forest Hill is the second Barchester home to be rated ‘Outstanding’ after Lucerne House – well done to everyone responsible!

Follow us on social media! Keep up-to-date with the latest news and stories from us and see pictures of life at Barchester homes by following us on Twitter and Facebook:

@Barchester_Care

/BarchesterHealthcare

Michael Butler, Activities Coordinator at Hollyfields Care Home in Kidderminster, was at the forefront of a wonderful scheme to unite two generations. His ‘Pen Pal Scheme’ aimed to encourage pupils from a local primary school and residents at Hollyfields to communicate by writing letters to each other and becoming pen pals. The primary school pupils liked receiving letters just as much as the residents. The significant age gap between the generations didn’t seem to be a problem – and the correspondents seem to have successfully reignited the lost art of letter writing. The story was such a huge hit, in fact, that it was even picked up by the BBC and appeared on BBC Breakfast, inspiring lots of other care homes and schools to follow suit.

Uniting the Generations

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all at Barchester Healthcare!